How much does he have left in the tank? A unique challenge faces LeBron in Los Angeles

James, now 33, must prove he still has enough in the tank to carry the Lakers to new heights.

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Written BySekou Smith - NBA.com

Shaquille O’Neal called it a “dream” when he signed with the Los
Angeles Lakers as a free agent in the summer of 1996.

He was 24, entering the physical prime of his eventual Hall of
Fame career while also poised to chase championships for perhaps
the most glamorous NBA franchise at that time.

Shaq was following in the footsteps of the giants, literally,
that came before him. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 28 when he first
pulled a Lakers jersey over his head, arriving via trade from the
Milwaukee Bucks.

The Lakers luring a big star to the NBA’s brightest and most
electric media market is nothing new. Said star showing up at the
ripe old age of 33 (as LeBron James did this summer) is a different
type of Hollywood story.

His decision to tackle this challenge 16 seasons into his career
comes with a physical risk that his past free-agent moves (from
Cleveland to Miami in 2010 and back to Cleveland in 2014) did not.
Does he have enough left in his tank to lead the Lakers to the sort
of heights he did the Heat and Cavaliers?

James’ early energy -- albeit in brief glimpses -- has been off
the charts. The player who dominated the Eastern Conference for so
long, leading his teams to eight straight trips to The Finals in
the process, seems to be the same one who showed up in Los
Angeles.

He’s still a physical marvel, remaining the best and, according
to the NBA.com GM survey, most difficult player in the league to
deal with. In that respect, LeBron’s situation with the Lakers is
more akin to Wilt Chamberlain’s than Shaq’s or Kareem’s.

Chamberlain was headed into the twilight of his career when the
Lakers acquired him in a trade with Philadelphia for Jerry
Chambers, Archie Clark and Darrall Imhoff in July of 1968. He was
32 and no longer the behemoth capable of averaging 50 points and 25
rebounds in a season, which he did at 25 in his third season.

Chamberlain was still a force, averaging 20.5 points and 21.1
rebounds per game in his first season in purple and gold. But he
was the missing piece on a roster already boasting future Hall of
Famers Jerry West, Gail Goodrich and Elgin Baylor. Chamberlain was
Finals MVP for the Lakers’ 1972 title team and finished his career
a year later at 36.

LeBron joined a team devoid of the superstar talent that he
brings to the Lakers. But he’s traveled this path before, taking a
reconfigured team from the lottery to The Finals in 2014-15, his
first season back in Cleveland. He’s built for the transition in
ways that no other player in the league is or could be, given the
trail he’s blazed in free agency during his career.

"It always feels different for me any time you change uniforms,"
James told reporters after his Lakers’ debut in a preseason game in
San Diego. "It felt different when I changed from a Vincent-St.
Mary jersey to a Cavs jersey, from a Cavs jersey to a Heat jersey
back to a Cavs jersey, and now being a Laker, so … it definitely
feels different and it'll take a little bit of time getting used
to.”